House warns Kerry he could be 1/16,000th poorer

John Kerry

Secretary of State John Kerry, right, chats with Deputy Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Frank Lowenstein while walking to board a flight on July 19, 2013 in Amman, Jordan. (AP Photo/Mandel Ngan, Pool)

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BRADLEY KLAPPER,Associated Press

Published: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 at 1:20 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 at 1:20 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican lawmakers are threatening to withhold salary representing less than one-sixteen thousandth of multimillionaire Secretary of State John Kerry's net worth.

The House Appropriations Committee's measure demands Kerry's agency implement recommendations of a U.S. investigator for Afghan reconstruction. If the State Department doesn't report progress, he loses a quarter of his salary for three months next year.

The conditions also apply to the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan.

For Kerry, whose assets totaled at least $184 million according to a 2011 Senate disclosure, it hardly matters.

His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is reportedly worth more than $1 billion.

And the family made more money when billionaire Warren Buffett bought out ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co. earlier this year.

Still, some Democrats opposed the amendment to next year's foreign operations bill.

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